Cholangitis laboratory tests
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Overview
The combination of hyperbilirubinemia, elevated white blood cell (WBC) count with bandemia, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase elevations all suggest the diagnosis. Alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin are significantly higher inpatients with malignant rather than benign obstruction. In benign obstruction, the bilirubin rarely exceeds 12. Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and 5’-nucleotidase confirm a biliary origin of the alkaline phosphatase. The prothrombin time is often elevated. AST and ALT may be as high as 1000, especially if microabcesses form.